03/06 Links Pt1: Israel hopes missile-ship intercept will expose Iran; Op. averted threat to millions

From Ian:

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Israel hopes missile-ship intercept will expose Iran

From the statements of officials, like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said a secondary goal of the interception had been to expose Iran’s true face, it seems the operation was about more than stopping missiles, it was about painting Iran and Hamas in as harsh a light as possible, not unlike was done to Yasser Arafat in 2002, after the Karine-A arms shipment was uncovered.
Maj. Gen. (res) Amos Yadlin, the former head of military intelligence, called the intelligence work, the operational capacity and the decision-making that went into the raid “fantastic,” noting on Army Radio Wednesday that thousands of ships sail across the Red Sea daily and that it would be “embarrassing” had Israeli troops intercepted an innocent vessel in international waters.

IDF intercepts deadly Iranian arms shipment in Red Sea

There’s more. There’s a sense in which various national policies colluded to suffer these arms to be shipped from Iran, and quite possibly – absent the alertness of Israeli intelligence and the IDF – to get to Gaza.
First of all, Syria manufactures these weapons as a modified version based on China’s WS-1 MLRS. China began exporting missile and rocket technology to Syria in the late 1980s, shortly before Syria first began manufacturing the M-302. China is now Syria’s largest trading partner, although Syria’s largest arms suppliers are Russia, Iran, and Belarus, which together provide 89% of Syria’s foreign-sourced weaponry.
The official flow of arms traffic may be a bit misleading today, as some Chinese arms, like the C802 anti-ship cruise missile, make their way into Syria via Iran. The M-302 has been manufactured in Syria long enough, however, that the “proliferation” occurred some time ago, and directly. (The U.S. in fact imposed sanctions on computer and other IT sales to China because of Beijing’s arms sales to Syria in the 1980s and 1990s. The sanctions were later relaxed under Bill Clinton.)
The Iran connection highlights another global facet of the arms-to-terrorists problem. Iraq and Sudan are serving as conduits for Iran’s arms exports (and now for an attempted Syrian-Iranian export to Hamas). Egypt’s uncertain control of the Sinai Peninsula is another key piece of the arms route. It’s worth reiterating that Iran is prohibited by UN Security Council Resolution 1737 (2006) from exporting arms.

Behind the Scenes: IDF Mission to Stop Iranian Terror





US, Israel shared intelligence on weapons shipment

State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said the Pentagon had made its own plan of action to interdict the Klos-C vessel, though Israel ended up carrying out the operation on its own.
“Soon after becoming aware of the imminent movement of the suspected vessel, the White House directed the Department of Defense to monitor the vessel and to develop concepts of operation for a range of options in order to be prepared to take unilateral steps if necessary,” Psaki said in a press briefing Wednesday.
“This is part of, of course, a robust effort on the part of the Administration. We were closely coordinated, our intelligence and military activities, with the – with our Israeli counterparts, who ultimately chose to take the lead with this case.”
The US was one of three nations to know about the operation before it became public.

Seized arms ship to dock in Eilat Saturday

A ship allegedly carrying advanced rockets from Iran to Gaza that was intercepted by the Israeli navy will reach the port of Eilat on Saturday evening, the military said.
“This ship, which was transporting dozens of M302-type rockets with a range of 150 to 200 kilometers (more than 100 miles) is currently north of Port Sudan and will arrive in Eilat on Saturday evening,” Brigadier General Motti Almoz told Army Radio Thursday.
“The ship may be carrying other weapons as well but we can only know this when it reaches Eilat,” he said, referring to the resort city at the southernmost tip of Israel.

IDF Blog: Iran’s Simple 4-Step Plan to Threaten Israel

Early Wednesday morning, the Israel Navy intercepted an Iranian weapons shipment carrying dozens of long-range Syrian rockets. Iran’s intentions were clear and simple: to help Gaza terrorists attack Israel and threaten millions of civilian lives. Fortunately, our soldiers foiled Iran’s plans and kept Israeli civilians safe.

#IranFail: Iran’s History of Unsuccessful Weapons Smuggling

Early Wednesday morning, the Israel Navy intercepted an Iranian shipment of advanced weapons intended for terrorist organizations in Gaza. This is not Iran’s first attempt at smuggling weapons. Previous attempts, had they been successful, would have armed local terror organizations with vast amounts of high-quality weaponry. Here is a select number of cases.

IDF COS Gantz VIDEO
Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon VIDEO

'Raid on Weapons Ship a Great Achievement for Intelligence'

Yadlin said that the IDF should be commended for its operation to foil the shipment.
“There are thousands of ships in the Red Sea, and to be able to know about the location of a specific ship and its cargo is nothing short of a great achievement for military intelligence,” he said. “Imagine the embarrassment had the soldiers boarded the wrong ship and found nothing. This operation was highly impressive.”

Defense minister: Navy operation averted threat to millions

An arms cache said by Israel to have been sent from Iran and intercepted by Israeli forces would have placed millions of Israelis in the line of fire had it fallen into the hands of Gazan terror groups, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Wednesday evening.
“This operation thwarted a significant threat to Israeli citizens,” Ya’alon said. “Those missiles that have been uncovered would certainly have threatened millions of Israelis had they reached the Gaza Strip.”

Peres Calls Iran's Bluff, Asks International Community to Follow

"The capture of the ship carrying arms to Hamas was a brilliant military operation and an extremely important act," he stated. "We can see the quality and courage of those who took part and we are proud of them."
"It is also an important message to the world, beginning with Iran," he continued. "Iran must stop bluffing."
Peres, like Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, noted that the operation "exposes the true face of Iran - which says one thing but does the opposite."
"They put on an innocent face and send the most dangerous missiles to a terror organization that kills innocents, in violation of international law," Peres stressed. "Iran must make up its mind - either to tell the truth and respect international law or admit that it is all camouflage and we cannot trust their policy or declaration."

Israel will Complain About Iran To Security Council

The weapons were intended for Palestinian terror groups in Gaza, who would use it to harm Israeli civilians, as they have done in the past.
"Thus, Iran repeatedly violates Security Council resolutions 1747 and 1929, which forbid it to export any kind of military material. By smuggling weapons to the Gaza Strip it violates Security Council resolutions 1373 and 1860.
"Iran continues to endanger international navigation routes and brazenly violates a number of Security Council resolutions with the aim of destabilizing the region and disseminate terror and war.
"Smuggling is carried out by the 'Quds Force', which is part of the Revolutionary Guards. This is a state branch operating under authority and clearance of the Iranian government, led by (Iranian President Hassan) Rouhani.
"Israel will lodge a formal complaint with the Security Council and with the sanctions committee, established under Security Council resolution 1737.

Iran denies sending intercepted weapons to Gaza

An Iranian official denied an Israeli report that Tehran had sent “advanced weaponry” for Palestinian terrorists in Gaza on a ship intercepted by Israel in the Red Sea on Wednesday.
“We completely deny this report which is totally without foundation,” an unnamed military official said, quoted on state-run Iranian television’s Arabic-language Al-Alam channel.

Zarif mocks 'coincidence' that arms ship seizure coincided with 'AIPAC anti-Iran campaign'

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif on Thursday scoffed at Israel's announcement that it captured a ship sent by Iran to deliver missiles to terror organizations in the Gaza Strip.
"An Iranian ship carrying arms for Gaza. Captured just in time for annual AIPAC anti Iran campaign. Amazing Coincidence! Or same failed lies," Zarif said via his Twitter account.

Israelly Cool: El Doucherino Guns For Approval Of Iranian El Presidente

In the wake of Israel’s interception of the Iranian arms shipment destined for Gaza, anti-Israel blogger Richard Silverstein has diverted himself from harassing African-American and homosexual Israel supporters to post that the Iranian government was not behind the shipment.

White House: Nuke talks ‘appropriate’ despite arms bust

Negotiations with Iran will continue as planned, even after the discovery of a weapons-laden ship traveling to Gaza from Iran, White House officials said Wednesday. While acknowledging that Iran is a major state sponsor of terrorism and implying that the US had also been willing to take action against the ship, White House Spokesman Jay Carney said that talks were still “appropriate” to try to reach a deal with Iran regarding its nuclear program.
“Even as we continue efforts to resolve our concerns over Iran’s nuclear program through diplomacy, we will continue to stand up to Iran’s support for destabilizing activities in the region, in coordination with our partners and allies, and made clear that these illicit actions are unacceptable to the international community and in gross violation of Iran’s UN Security Council obligations,” Carney told reporters Wednesday.
Carney denied that there was any contradiction in the US policy of continuing nuclear negotiations while Iran was engaged in such activities.

Reuters: How a Typo Can Create a Conspiracy Theory

It’s not unusual to find anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists lurking in the nether regions of the web who will always try to claim that Israel mounts “false flag operations” to discredit its enemies. In the case of the Iranian weapons ship seized by the IDF, this would entail Israel planting the missiles on board in order to serve its own nefarious propaganda.
While this sort of fringe lunacy can be readily dismissed, it isn’t helpful when a reputable media outlet makes an error that might assist in the construction of such a conspiracy theory.
Take Reuters, which initially reported: "Israeli television footage showed what appeared to be marines inspecting a rocket on the floor of a ship hold, with cement bags labeled “Made in Israel” in English next to it."

Cruel Israeli Commandos Intercept Poor, Defenseless Missiles (satire)

The missiles were sent to Iran and repackaged as a shipment of cement in Iraq, just to disguise them from those snooping Israelis. But the nefarious Zionist forces intercepted the Panamanian freighter anyway, putting the poor explosive projectiles at risk of not being used to endanger the lives of Jews.
“This act of piracy is an absolute outrage,” says Mahmoud Jibril, who was waiting to welcome the rockets in Gaza. “The missiles were lying there in crates, harming no one, and all of a sudden these Zionist commandos commandeer the ship, rifle through the cargo, and expose those M-302s to the harsh light of day.”
“When will the international community put a stop to these repeated Israeli attempts to protect Jews, at the expense of weapons lovingly manufactured to kill them?” wondered Islamic Jihad rocket engineer Marwan Alwaliki. “The shamelessness of the Zionist regime knows no bounds, ranging 1,500 kilometers into international waters just to deprive the rockets of the opportunity to do the one thing they know how to do.”

Liberman: Palestinians torpedoing peace talks

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman on Thursday blamed the Palestinians for the deadlock in the peace talks that began last July, rejecting Ramallah’s preconditions for extending the American-moderated negotiations past April.
“The Palestinians are the ones torpedoing the talks by setting conditions,” he said in an interview with Israel Radio, adding that “Israel will not agree to any further conditions for the continuation of talks.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that he would only continue peace negotiations past the April deadline if Israel agreed to freeze construction in West Bank settlements and free additional prisoners.

US Bars Shin Bet, Mossad Agents from Visiting

The United States has quietly instituted a policy of denying visa requests from members of Israel’s security services, Maariv/nrg reports.
Senior security personnel who spoke to the paper said that over the past year they have seen hundreds of cases in which members of the Shin Bet and Mossad, and workers in Israel’s defense industries, have been told they cannot visit America.
The situation has been discussed in Israeli defense circles, they said. No official statement has been forthcoming from either U.S. or Israeli leaders. (h/t Zvi)

Rockets from Gaza fired toward southern Israel, no injuries

Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip attempted to fire multiple rockets toward southern Israel Wednesday night.
The Code Red rocket alert siren sounded in Sderot and surrounding communities around midnight.
Security forces were searching for the remains of a projectile.

PA Complains to UN Over Temple Mount

The Palestinian Authority (PA) complained to the United Nations on Wednesday over Israel’s actions at the Temple Mount.
Kol Yisrael radio reported that the PA’s observer in the UN, Riyad Mansour, said he expects the UN Security Council to prevent Israel’s “illegal activities” at the Temple Mount.
A statement posted on the website of the PA’s mission to the United Nations said that the PA was “particularly concerned by the increasing incursions by Israeli extremists and political leaders, including government officials, on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.”

Report: Egypt seeks Russian arms that could undermine treaty with Israel

Despite the fact that Egypt has maintained the peace deal with Israel since 1979, a transfer of such advanced weapons “would degrade Israel’s qualitative military edge,” said the report, titled “Egypt’s arms deal with Russia: Potential Strategic Costs,” by David Schenker and Eric Trager.
“To be sure, the strategic cooperation and level of trust between Israel and Egypt, particularly on Sinai, has never been better. But changing the status quo could undermine that trust and perhaps even the Camp David peace treaty,” it said.
Egypt completed a $2 billion arms deal with Russia, financed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, an Egyptian newspaper reported last month.

Iran says it won’t shutter heavy water reactor

Zarif said Iran would not shutter the unfinished Arak heavy water reactor, a concern to the West because Tehran could extract weapons-grade plutonium from its spent fuel if it also builds a reprocessing facility.
This would give it a second route to a nuclear bomb.
On Tuesday, Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran’s refusal to shutter Arak showed it was covertly pursuing nuclear weapons.